Minnesota; Air Ordnanceman John Edward Hansen, 31, from Rochester, Minnesota; and Aviation Machinists Mate Harris R. Hendrickson, 47 of Minneapolis. Wings and tail of wreckage were removed, but much remains of the bomber in difficult, often near-vertical terrain. 19 February The first major accident aboard USS John F. Kennedy, CVA-67, occurs this date, when a North American RA-5C Vigilante from Reconnaissance Attack Squadron (RVAH) 14 plunges into the water just after launch. A Kaman UH-2A Seasprite, BuNo 149748, from HC-2, Detachment 67, piloted by Lieutenants Robert E. Hofstetter and William H. Gregory, with Aviation Machinist's Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d class Dehey and Aviation Electrician's Mate 1st class Donald L. Lewis as rescue crewmen, retrieves Lieutenant (j.g.) John R. Ellis, the Vigilante's naval flight officer (NFO), but Lieutenant Commander Richard A. "Dick" Bright, the pilot, is lost with the airframe. 20 February USS John F. Kennedy, CVA-67 suffers its second accident, only one day after the loss of an RA-5C Vigilante on launch, when a McDonnell-Douglas F-4J Phantom II from VF-101 is lost while attempting a night recovery. A Kaman UH-2A Seasprite, BuNo 149015, Angel 104, piloted by Lieutenant Gregory (who had been involved in the rescue the previous day) and Lieutenant (j.g.) Sokel, with Aviation Machinist's Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d class John H. Cooper and Aviation Electrician's Mate 1st class Lewis (who had also been involved in the previous day's rescue), retrieves Lieutenant (j.g.) Frank H. Lloyd, the pilot, and Lieutenant (j.g.) Robert D. Work, his radar intercept officer (RIO), both having ejected from the F-4J, accomplishing the task in total darkness, in the teeth of 35-knot winds and 8-to-10-foot seas, operations made even more difficult by the turbulence caused by the carrier upwind of the rescue site. 27 February The night-time take-off crash of a Beechcraft U-8D Seminole at Milan, Italy, kills Major General John S. Hughes, 52, of Fort Worth, Texas, commander of all U.S. Army troops in northern Italy. He had assumed command of the United States southern Europe task force (SETAF) in May 1968. Also killed was pilot Major Edward Haislop, 32, of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Co-pilot Major Gordon Cooper, 34, also of Parkersburg, and Spc. 5/C Wallace Runyan, 21, originally of Fairbury, Illinois, but now residing in Milan, were reported in critical condition in a Milan clinic with fractures and burns. The U-8D apparently lost power on its engines as it lifted off